Stable Condition, Pope Francis No Longer Uses Ventilator

Gemelli Hospital di Roma, Italia tempat Paus Fransiskus dirawat. (Wikimedia Commons/Sergio DAfflitto)

JAKARTA - Vatican authorities on Monday announced Pope Francis was resting well overnight and in a stable condition while undergoing treatment at a hospital that had entered its 18th day.

The 88-year-old whale no longer needs the use of mechanical ventilation to breathe and not have a fever, the Vatican said in its latest medical update on Sunday evening.

"The Pope rested well throughout the night," the information update from the Vatican said on Monday.

The full medical update on Pope Francis' condition is expected on Monday evening.

Pope Francis was treated at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, Italy on February 14 with severe respiratory problems which quickly turned into double pneumonia, serious infections in both lungs that could inflame and wound him, making it difficult to breathe.

Vatican updates on the Pope's condition have improved since Friday, when the Pope experienced respiratory narrowing, similar to asthma attacks, which required him to be sucked in.

On Sunday evening, the Vatican said the Pope's condition was stable and it no longer needed the use of what it described as "non-invasive mechanical ventilation".

However, the statement said doctors kept the Pope's prognosis a secret because of his complicated condition, meaning he was still in danger.

Pope Francis has suffered several pains over the past two years and is prone to lung infections as he suffering from inflammation of his chest membrane as a young adult and part of his lungs have been removed.

The Pope has not been seen in public since his hospital admission, his longest absence since his papal start in March 2013, and his doctor has not said how long his treatment will last.